Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“That’s enough!” I shout with enough volume to make Trevor, the boom mic operator, flinch and whip off his headphones. “Sorry, Trevor,” I say, lowering my voice slightly. But only slightly. I have Meredith and Hannah’s attention now, and I don’t want to lose it. “Meredith, Hannah, you’re both out.”
Meredith’s jaw drops. “But she’s the one who—”
“You threw the first punch,” I cut in as I shift my glare Hannah’s way. “And you showed your true colors. We don’t tolerate verbal attacks or foul language on this set.”
Hannah mutters something about people not having a sense of humor anymore, to which Kara, our costume consultant calls out, “Calling someone a trashy ‘c- word’ with a nappy weave isn’t funny, girl. It’s mean,” making me proud of my crew.
The people working behind the scenes on Innkeeping with You: Holiday Games Edition are a diverse group, from every background and walk of life, but they all have three things in common—they work hard, they know my cranky side isn’t anything to be afraid of, and they’re kind.
Kindness is important. Even when I was writing raunchy jokes at some pop star’s expense back on the Sandy show, I did my best to keep my verbal punches playful, not hurtful.
I’m not about to spend another two weeks with garbage people, not even to save this show.
“Eric, escort Meredith back to the hotel to pack her things and get her on a flight out of LaGuardia this afternoon. Grace, do the same for Hannah, please, but book her out of JFK.” I divide my attention between the women as I add, “Since the two of you can’t act like adults, we’ll separate you like toddlers until you’re out of our city.”
“I’d better get my check or I’m going to share everything I know about your stupid show on my socials,” Hannah says as Grace, one of our junior production assistants, comes to stand beside her. “And I have six thousand followers!”
“Violate your non-disclosure agreement and we’ll sue you into the ground,” I say with a smile. I wave as Grace guides her out the door onto the quiet Chelsea street outside. “Goodbye, Hannah. Make better choices.”
“I’m sorry,” Meredith says, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Please don’t make me go. I can be good again. I promise. I just have a lot of unresolved anger. Mostly from my childhood, I think.”
“Then you should probably deal with that before it lands you in jail for assault,” I say in a gentler voice. “You’re lucky Hannah’s too focused on getting a check to think of pressing charges against you. Go home, and take care of yourself, okay? A check for the first three days of filming will be sent to the address on file.”
Her brown eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really,” I assure her. “She provoked you. It doesn’t excuse punching her in the face, but…I get it.”
Meredith sniffs and nods. “Thanks. Maybe I will look into anger management or something. My family always says therapy is for people who don’t have real problems, but…maybe they’re wrong. Maybe it could help.”
“It did for me,” Ainsley says, dividing her attention between Meredith and whatever she’s doing on her cell. “I had a lot of anger, too. One time I threw a bowling ball at a frat boy at a party.”
My brows lift as I take in all five-foot-one of tiny, scrawny-armed Ainsley.
Reading my expression, she adds, “Rage gives a person enhanced strength.” She glances back to Meredith with a wrinkle of her nose. “Until it starts feeding on its host and slowly devours you from the inside out.”
Meredith makes a considering sound. “It’s definitely been eating at me.”
“Therapy and positive self-talk,” Ainsley says, pausing in her phone-tapping to flash a shy smile. “It feels silly at first, but talking to yourself like you would talk to someone you love is pretty powerful.”
Meredith swipes the tears from her cheeks with a wobbly grin. “Maybe I got what I needed out of this show, after all.”
“I hope so,” I say, lifting a hand to bid her and Eric goodbye before turning back to Ainsley. “Tell me all this tapping on your cell is you contacting alternate cast members.”
“Jenna, our alternate ‘troublemaker,’ the one with the tattoos who runs the Goth Girl Inn, is on her way to the city from Poughkeepsie as we speak,” Ainsley says, easing some of the tension from my chest.
Maybe we can pull this out of the fire, after all. We’ve only been filming for three days, and that was mostly intros, cast interviews, and this first competition. Even with needing to reshoot the tearoom challenge with new cast members, it shouldn’t put us behind schedule or over budget.
“Everyone take an early lunch,” I call out to the three remaining cast members and crew. “We’ll regroup at noon with an update on where we go from here. Thank you again for your professionalism. I know this day hasn’t gone the way any of us expected, but we’ll rally and come back stronger. And we’ll still have you home in time for Christmas. I promise.”